Hamas Considers Truce Proposal

Hamas said it is studying a proposal for a truce and hostage-prisoner swap after talks in Cairo, as Israel's defense minister said it is the right time for a deal, six months into the Gaza war.

Israel is under growing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire, including from its top ally and arms supplier the United States, and faces mounting calls to refrain from a threatened offensive against the teeming southern Gaza city of Rafah.

A Hamas source close to the negotiations said the group was reviewing a proposal that would see a six-week truce and Israeli women and child hostages from its October 7 attacks freed in exchange for up to 900 Palestinian prisoners.

The source, asking for anonymity, said the first phase would also involve the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to northern Gaza, and the delivery of 400 to 500 trucks of food aid daily to the territory, where the United Nations has warned of imminent famine.

Amid the negotiations, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a date had been set for sending troops into Gaza's southern Rafah city.

"It will happen -- there is a date," Netanyahu said in a video statement which did not specify the timing. He insists "victory" over Hamas militants in Gaza requires troops to go into Rafah, where around 1.5 million people have sought shelter.

Netanyahu is under intense pressure at home from families and supporters of hostages, and from a resurgent anti-government protest movement.

The prospect of a Rafah invasion has alarmed world leaders and humanitarians.

The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said at least 38 more people were killed over the previous day.

Witnesses said that Israeli air strikes and artillery fire hit north and central Gaza, as well as Rafah where Israel has regularly bombed targets even ahead of any invasion there.